The decade-old studios’ plan to eliminate the middleman and go directly to consumers with their content has been shattered with yesterday’s agreement between Disney and cable operator Spectrum. Now, all Disney’s streaming ad-supported services can be accessed through Spectrum.

“This deal sets the framework for what should be developed throughout the entire industry,” commented Chris Winfrey, CEO of Charter, Spectrum’s parent company.

In exchange, Disney managed to get higher rates for carriage of its TV channels (excluding Freeform, Disney XD, and FXX). Spectrum can now share revenues from services that previously contributed to reduce its subscribers’ count, and Disney can increase its reach for its ad-supported streaming channels with the potential addition of some 15 million homes.

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